Can You Guess Your State's Favorite Daytime TV Show Guilty Pleasure?

posted by Emily Lee -
Dec 5, 2018

Remember the good ole days when you used to stay home from school and watch episode after episode of guilty pleasure daytime television shows? From Family Feud, Dr. Phil, and Wheel of Fortune to The Young and the Restless, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and The Price is Right, there were so many options to click through while you lounged on the couch. Have you ever wondered which of these shows was the most popular in your state? Because there's an answer to that question.

The team at USDirect got to thinking: what are the most-popular daytime TV showsin each state? To find out, they started with a list of all currently airing daytime TV shows (excluding Sunday morning programs), then looked at Google search volume of each show from the past year by state and compiled a list of the most-watched daytime TV shows in America.

Indiana has an affinity for game shows where contestants can win money—Let’s Make a Deal was their favorite—and they’re also the state with the most lottery winners since 1992.

Nevada is obsessed with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and unsurprisingly so—Gardnerville Ranchos and Elko are among the top 20 small towns with the highest concentration of millionaires in the U.S.

Judge Judy was the top-paid TV host in 2018 ($147 MILLION!!!), beating out Ellen AND Dr. Phil. Although she wasn’t a state’s favorite, she does produce Hot Bench, which is top in Delaware and Missouri.

Jerry Springer was another big name that didn’t make our map. He apparently is trying to make that “Judge Judy money” and starting his own judge show fall 2019, Judge Jerry. Maybe he’ll preside over our list next year.